Visit Paradise at the Fort Worth Zoo

Paradise is available at the Fort Worth Zoo! The Zoo’s first exhibit to open in three years, Parrot Paradise is a free-flight, interactive aviary featuring six species of lorikeets?small, exotic, colorful parrots from New Guinea, Australia and the South Pacific. Also flying among the lorikeets are cockatiels and parakeets.

The exhibit is located on the Zoo’s upper path (between the lions and Raptor Canyon).

In Parrot Paradise, Zoo visitors see hundreds of colorful birds up-close-and personal, as the birds can fly down and perch on their arms, head and shoulders. Guests can also purchase nectar and seed to feed the birds. Both are $1.

“Zoo visitors will get a kick out of feeding the lorikeets, which are known as brush-tongued parrots,” said Brad Hazelton, curator of birds. “The birds’ tongues are specially adapted to extract nectar and pollen from flowers, and visitors will have the chance to feel their unique tongue against their finger.

“These birds have been raised and trained in captivity, so they are comfortable and friendly with people and aren’t typically shy when it comes to feeding. If guests purchase nectar (to feed the lorikeets) and seeds (to feed the cockatiels and parakeets), several birds are likely to flock to guests at one time and sit on their arms, heads and shoulders.”

In addition to being fun and educational, Parrot Paradise is also historical. The exhibit site was originally built in 1937 with funds from the city and Works Progress Administration, a federal program which created jobs during the Great Depression. “An $18,000 monkey apartment home,” Monkey Island housed 30 rhesus monkeys. In 1949, Monkey Island became a sea lion pool, and in 1970, the exhibit contained small South American mammals. In the 1980s, storks and cranes inhabited the area, and in the early 1990s, the exhibit was converted to an alligator exhibit, where American alligators lived until 2001. Since 2001, the area has been vacant.

Construction of Parrot Paradise began in the fall of 2003, after a generous donation from Sewell Lexus of Fort Worth.

“Sewell Lexus of Fort Worth is proud to partner with the Fort Worth Zoo on the construction of Parrot Paradise,” said Dudley Haralson, Sewell Lexus of Fort Worth General Manager. “We believe the Zoo is a wonderful asset to the Fort Worth community and wanted to be a part of its educational efforts.”

For Further Information Contact:
Lyndsay Nantz
lnantz@fortworthzoo.org

Tracy Sturrock
tsturrock@fortworthzoo.org

Other recent news